Agriculture

RESEARCH ON MICROORGANISMS AND INVERTEBRATES OF SIGNIFICANCE IN AGRICULTURE

  • Study of rhizobacteria (Rhizobium spp.) and their strains, evaluation of their efficiency and compatibility with host plants (peas, beans, etc. legumes), elucidation of their biological and genetic diversity,

  • Interaction of different groups of microorganisms (rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi),

  • Plant diseases, their development characteristics and possibilities for control,

  • Invertebrates (flying beetles and short-winged insects) as environmental indicators,

  • Destructiveness of cereal pests, development cycles and their natural enemies.

RESEARCH ON SOILS AND LAND AS A BASIC AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE

  • Soil diversity and protection. The role of soil in the formation of environmental risks (emissions of greenhouse gases, CO2, etc., leaching and leaching of biochemically active substances) and agricultural technologies to reduce these risks,

  • Changes in soil properties during various uses of agricultural land – intensive production, extensive use, organic farming, precision agriculture, various soil cultivation systems and crop rotation schemes, etc.,

  • Types and methods of using fertilizers in connection with increasing their efficiency and reducing environmental risks. Studies on the circulation of chemical elements in agriculture,

  • Sustainable crop rotation and soil cultivation types and methods, adapting them to different agricultural systems and environmental conditions,

  • Changes in weed species and their distribution depending on different agro-ecological conditions.

IMPROVING PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND HARVEST QUALITY USING ENVIRONMENTALLY PROTECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

  • Formation of structural elements of wheat, rapeseed and other crop yields in crop rotation and repeated sowings depending on the type of soil cultivation,

  • Differences in cold resistance (resistance to low positive temperatures) of corn hybrids and their impact on plant growth, development and yield; Impact of sowing density and harvesting time on yield, its quality and mycotoxin formation in the yield,

  • Suitability of various energy crops for biogas production – more methane with less climatic risk,

  • Determination of optimal fertilizer rates for corn, hemp, legumes and other crops,

  • High-value pasture greens for various animal species; Assessment of mycotoxin contamination of feed in Latvian farms; Growing and using alfalfa for industrial processing,

  • Vaccinium spp. (blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries), biological aspects of winter hardiness, research on genetic resources (aromatic, medicinal and other plants, bees), conservation of the gene pool.

IMPROVEMENT OF ANIMAL PRODUCTIVITY AND FUNCTIONAL EFFICIENCY

  • Development of productive traits of Latvian farm animals using molecular genetics methods,

  • Suitability of various species of farm animals imported to Latvia for Latvian conditions,

  • Development of feeding and housing systems for farm animals suitable for the Latvian environment and economically advantageous,

  • Development of animal health assurance programs for various types of farms in Latvia (including organic farms),

  • Study of animal welfare, adaptation processes and behavior for traditional and non-traditional animal species,

  • Development of new feed materials or additives and new feed preparation technologies, their testing,

  • Study of the impact of farm animal feed composition on the environment and climate (including methane emissions),

  • Study of morphofunctional processes of non-traditional animal species (e.g. ostriches, deer, snails) and the impact of these processes on the quantity and quality of the obtained products